τέρμα
Word
Validation
Word-form
Word-lemma
Etymon-lemma
Transliteration (Word)
English translation (word)
Transliteration (Etymon)
English translation (etymon)
Century
Source
Ref.
Ed.
Quotation
Δέρματα. κατὰ μετάθεσιν τοῦ τ εἰς δ, ὡσπερεὶ τέρμα τοῦ σώματος. ἔξωθεν γὰρ ἐπιβέβληται παντὶ τῷ συνεστηκότι σώματι
Translation (En)
Dermata "skins". Through a change of the [t] into [d], as if it were the boundary (terma) of the body, because it is thrown from outside onto the whole assembled body
Parallels
Meletius, De natura hominis p. 132 (Τὸ δὲ δέρμα ὥσπερ τέρμα τοῦ σώματος, ἔξωθεν ἐπιβέβλη ται παντὶ τῷ σώματι· ἢ οἷον δέρμα, τὸ συνισχηκὸς τὸ σῶμα καὶ συνδεσμοῦν· ἢ οἷον δέρμα, παρὰ τὸ ἀποδέρεσθαι ὡς ἐπὶ τῶν ζώων· ἢ οἷον δέμας, διὰ τὸ καὶ τὸ σῶμα οὕτως καλεῖσθαι, ὅτι δεσμός ἐστι τῆς ψυχῆς); Leo Medicus, De natura hominum synopsis 78 (Τὸ δέρμα, χρείας ἕνεκεν μόνης γεγενημένον, δέρμα καλεῖται διὰ τὸ ὡς τέρμα· τῷ σώματι ἔξωθεν ἐπιβέβληται παντί· ἢ οἷον δέμας, ὅτι δεσμός ἐστι τοῦ σώματος καὶ τῆς ψυχῆς ὡς ταύτης δώμημα); Etym. Magnum, Kallierges, p. 257 (Κυρίως ἐπὶ ἀλόγων· παρὰ τὸ δέρω, τὸ ἐκδέρω· ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν λοιπῶν ζῴων, παρὰ τὸ τέρμα εἶναι τοῦ σώματος, ὅ ἐστι πλήρωμα· τροπῇ τοῦ τ εἰς δ, δέρμα· ἔξωθεν γὰρ ἐπιβέβληται παντὶ τῷ σώματι. ); Ps.-Zonaras, Lexicon, delta, p. 562 (δέρμα. κυρίως τὸ ἀποσεσυρμένον δέρμα τῶν ἀλόγων. παρὰ τὸ δέρω τὸ ἐκδείρω. ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν λοιπῶν ζώων παρὰ τὸ τέρμα εἶναι τοῦ σώματος); ibid., delta, p. 483 (δέρμα δὲ τὸ οἱονεὶ τέρμα, [τέλος γὰρ τοῦ σώματος ἐστὶ καὶ ἔξωθεν περιβέβληται. ἢ δέμας ὂν τῷ δεσμῷ ἐοικὸς, πλεονασμῷ τοῦ ρ)
Comment
This etymology relies on a phonetic manipulation (change of the consonant). It is descriptive, as the skin is indeed the outer limit of the body. It was designed in order to account for the use, regular in classical Greek, of δέρμα for living beings, animals as well as humans, for which the etymology through δέρω (q.v.) "to skin" was felt inappropriate, because it refers to the skinned hide of dead animals